Barr's Hill School


Barr's Hill School and Community College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Radford, Coventry, England.

Location

Barr's Hill is situated on a spacious green field site just north of Coventry city centre on the B4098, south of the Coventry-Nuneaton Line. The site of the former Daimler factory is a few hundred metres to the north. The Bablake School is directly to the west, separated by Naul's Mill Park. The school is outside of but borders the parish of Radford.
The school provides an extensive extended school's programme of classes and activities for the local community.

History

Grammar school

The area was heavily bombed in World War 2. It was an all-girls grammar school until 1975 when boys became pupils there for the first time. It was founded in 1908 with an intake of 180 girls, the original school building being the former house of John Kemp Starley, the inventor of the bicycle.

Comprehensive

It became a comprehensive in 1975. In 2006 the school gained specialist Engineering status and acts as a hub for the teaching of engineering in Coventry. Barr's Hill also gained foundation school status. In 2010 Applied Learning was added as a combined specialism.

Academy

Previously administered by Coventry City Council, in October 2015 Barr's Hill School was converted to academy status. The school is now part of the Futures Trust, however Barr's Hill continues to coordinate with Coventry City Council for admissions.

Academic performance

The progress made by students is among the best in Coventry. 44% of students gained 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C with English and Maths and 87% gained 5 or more A*-C grades overall in 2013. A-level results are amongst the best in the city.

Notable former pupils

Barr's Hill Grammar School